I decided to revisit the topic of “A
Day in the Life” since that was the post that kicked off this blog
six years ago. Much has changed in our life since then. We still
homeschool, and we still live in Fauquier County, Virginia, a rural
exurb of Washington, D. C. Our son Preston is now 19 and in his
second year at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he is studying
mechanical engineering. That leaves just Ian, almost 15, at home,
beginning his freshman year of high school. In addition to
homeschooling, Mom, Kanoa, also is busy volunteering in the community
with multiple roles at our church and with Boy Scouts and networking
with other homeschoolers. Dad, David, has a degree in civil
engineering but works in the systems engineering field at a defense
contractor located in one of the closer in suburbs.
Since
each day at our house is different, this will be more of a week in
the life post to give you a glimpse of what our family's homeschool
is like.
4:45 In order to have more time with the family and
to avoid the notoriously bad D. C. rush hour, David gets up well
before the rest of the family.
5:15 David is out the door and
headed to his job. He usually arrives at his office between 6:00 and
6:30, depending on how bad traffic already is.
6:25 Kanoa's
alarm goes off, and on a good day she will get up immediately. She
takes her shower and begins the day's chores which, at a minimum,
include making the bed, starting some laundry, and feeding the cat.
It may also include cleaning one of the bathrooms and folding laundry
from the previous night.
7:30 David usually calls home to
check what's on the schedule for the day and how things are going.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and some Fridays during the school year, we
are usually trying to head out the door to get to the gym. It takes
approximately 40 minutes to drive to the gym.
8:00 On Tuesdays, Thursdays, &
Fridays, it's time to start breakfast and wake Ian up.
8:15 On Mondays and Wednesdays we
arrive at the gym for some exercise before starting our school work.
Ian does some cardio or swims laps, and Kanoa warms up with some
cardio before lifting weights. We're typically there for about two
hours. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays, we eat breakfast, do
the dishes, and take care of some more laundry.
9:00 On
Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays, Kanoa spends time reading the
Bible. In past years we have participated in a reading the Bible in
a year program and reading the Bible in chronological order in a
year. This year Kanoa is concentrating on just reading some Psalms
and Proverbs each day.
10:00 On Tuesdays, Thursdays, &
Fridays, the school day officially starts with Bible reading and
devotions. We read from a devotional, read a chapter from the Bible,
and pray. For devotions we are using a combination of devotions from
the website d365 and advent and lenten devotionals printed by
Brethren Press. This fall we are focusing on Acts for our Bible
readings. After that is done Kanoa gets the computer ready to check
e-mail and news during brief breaks while Ian is working
independently. On the third Thursday of the month a local skating
rink is open for homeschool skate from 10:00 to 1:00 so we generally
try to attend that.
10:30 On most Mondays and Wednesdays we
leave the gym and get breakfast for Ian before heading to a local
library for a few hours. However, on the first Wednesday of each
month Kanoa attends a board meeting for a community organization
while Ian works on his schoolwork.
11:00 On Mondays we arrive at the
library and will work here for an hour and 45 minutes.
Ian works on his assignments from A
Beka's Grammar & Composition I; Themes in Literature; Vocabulary,
Spelling, and Poetry II & III; History of the World in Christian
Perspective; Science: Order and Design; and Health in Christian
Perspective. He also does vocabulary from Vocabulary from Classical
Roots and Singapore Math's New Elementary Mathematics Syllabus D Book
1.
12:00 On Tuesdays we break for lunch.
12:45 On Mondays we leave the library.
Ian eats his packed lunch on the way to his classes at CHESS. Kanoa
eats lunch while Ian is in class on Mondays and Wednesdays.
1:00. On Tuesdays, Kanoa teaches/tutors
pre-algebra to four students in a co-op in which we have been
involved for a few years. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, we
take a break for lunch.
1:10 On Mondays, Ian's
photography/yearbook class meets for an hour.
2:00. On Tuesdays, Ian attends
literature class with the co-op. Mostly they have been reading
classic works of literature such as Dante's Inferno, The Prince and
the Pauper, Call of the Wild, Gulliver's Travels, A Christmas Carol,
The Time Machine, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Robinson
Crusoe, Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein, 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea, and 1984. The first book for this year was The Giver, and now
they are preparing to read The Shining. Many of these books have
inspired us to read additional books. Since we spend a lot of time
in the car, we put it to good use listening to audio books.
2:20 On Mondays, Ian's French 1 class
meets for an hour and a half. On Wednesdays, French 1 meets for an
hour.
2:30 On Thursdays Ian goes to his piano
lesson for 30 minutes. He has been playing piano for about 8 years.
He is currently working on Christmas recital music and Festival
pieces.
3:15 On Thursdays we head to a
local library to finish up any school work.
4:00 On the second Tuesday Ian is
involved in a group at our local library called Teen Advisory Group
(TAG) that meets during the school year. They meet to do service
projects and other activities that the teens enjoy. During the
summer, Ian also volunteers with the summer reading program.
4:15 David usually arrives home from
work, and on Wednesdays Kanoa and Ian are getting home from French
class.
5:00 On most days it's time to start dinner because our
day is usually far from over. On Thursdays in the fall and spring
Ian has soccer practice for an hour. While he practices, Kanoa uses
the time to exercise by using the paths around the soccer fields.
7:00 On Mondays our Boy Scout troop
meets for an hour and a half. Ian is currently a Star Scout. He
just finished a term as Patrol Leader for his patrol. We usually
attend the meetings as a family because David is the Committee Chair
and Kanoa is also on the Committee. We frequently have to sit on
boards of review for Scouts, help with merit badges, or help to
organize troop activities. On certain Tuesdays and Thursdays other
meetings are scheduled for either David or Kanoa.
7:30 If there are no meetings, Kanoa
enjoys watching Jeopardy!
9:15. We're generally getting home
on nights when there have been meetings.
9:30 Time to get
ready for bed after another busy day.
10:00 Lights out.
To better help explain this weekly
schedule, I have also created a graphic that I will also post.
